Waiting
by Fauxhound
Summary: Matthew is the son of parents who never notice him. He is a straight-A student in an elementary class that does not notice him. Nobody notices him but one person. His brother. All he can do is wait. Wait for someone else to realize that he isn't invisible
1. Wait at Home

**Author's Note: These are short little stories, just a head's up. It is a multichap story, I already have two other chapters written out.**

**WARNING: This is an Alternate Universe(AU) story. All nations are refered to in there human names, and this story revolves around Canada. In this AU, the characters are normal kids in elementary school, and they are not related as they are in the anime. For example, Italy is not brothers with France, only Romano. Canada and America are brothers from parents who are not named. England has not shown up yet, but he's realtaed to them, too. I do not write slash, so this will not have any USUK or anything, Canada will not be doing anything with his brother, either. They're kids, you guys.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia!**

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Nobody noticed the boy in the corner. His soft words went unheard, every attempt to gain even the slightest bit of attention went unnoticed. And so the boy sunk into the corner, hugging his knees into his chest in a lonely embrace. He was practically invisible. The boy watched the others in the room as they conversed, cheering for the boy's brother, praising him for his accomplishments.

The boy's brother was an athlete, and he _always_ came out with a trophy in the end. The boy in the corner did not care for sports, he was no good at them anyway. The only sport he could play was hockey, and he had an interest in curling, but most people did not even know what that was. I did not matter anyway, his parents paid him no heed.

Next to the boy was a small stuffed bear, one with soft white fur and friendly eyes. The boy carried the stuffed polar bear everywhere he went, he could never leave the house without it.

"Where's Matthew?"

The boy shot up to his feet, polar bear dangling in hand. That was his brother speaking. His brother was the only one who ever paid any attention to him whatsoever.

"I'm right here," Matthew said aloud, but his voice hardly raised over a whisper.

His brother turned to his direction and sent his sibling a grin. Blue eyes kind, he walked over to his brother and said, "Did you see my trophy? ….What are you doing?"

"What? Oh, how long have you been there, Matthew?" That was the father.

Matthew did not even look at his father as he spoke. Instead, he focused all of his attention on his brother, the blond haired boy in the red soccer jersey, and said, "Waiting."

His brother raised an eyebrow, something that Matthew could never do. "Waiting? For what?"

Matthew's soft blue eyes were full of emotion. "For someone."

"Alfred, come here. Come take a picture with your trophy, stop bothering Matthew."

His mother's voice stole the attention away from Matthew, causing Alfred to turn away. "Okay."

With that, Matthew frowned, and slid down the wall and back into his seat in the corner. Glasses full of bitter tears, he hugged the bear plush into his chest and watched. And waited.


	2. Waiting at School

**Author's Note: Welp, this one is even shorter than the last. At least it's a little happier, with Kumajiro there.**

**WARNING: This is an AU fic, and it will be rather sad later on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia.**

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"Does anyone know the answer to number two?"

Matthew's hand rose. It was the first to go up. Staring up at his teacher with pleading eyes, he held his breath.

"Anyone?"

Matthew wiggled his fingers and shook his hand. He was in the front of the class, why didn't she notice him?

"No?" the teacher's eyes swept over him, not noticing him at all as if he were nonexistent. "Alright, I'll show you how to do it." With that, she turned around and began to work out the marker on the white board. She got the exact same answer Matthew did.

With his hand back on his desk, he sunk into his desk and let out a very quiet sigh. Not even his teacher could see him, even when he was just a few feet away. Why was it that he was so invisible to everyone but Alfred?

If Alfred was in that class, he would have stuck up for his brother, he would have told the teacher that he had an answer. Every time Alfred pointed Matthew out, he was suddenly visible to the world. For a while, at least. They always forgot about him again. Matthew wished he wasn't so easy to forget.

"How about number three?" The teacher asked, facing the class with an Expo marker in hand.

Matthew did not bother to raise his hand. Instead, he pulled a textbook out from inside of his desk, flipped it open to the correct page for homework, and got started.

The whole class went this way for the rest of the day. When the bell rang, he slung on his backpack and quickly picked up the stuffed bear that was sitting in his lap, the bear who had fallen to the floor when he stood up.

"Come on, Kuruji," he said almost silently at the plush, fixing his gaze on its face and pushing blond hair out of his eyes. He gave a friendly smile to the bear and it seemed to smile back. At least, that was how Matthew felt.

No matter how many people ignored him, no matter how many people looked right past him, at least Kumajiro would be there for him.


	3. Waiting out a Storm

**Author's Note: Poor Canada... I feel kinda bad for writing this. I love you, Canada! Never forget that! I torture you because I care...!**

**WARNING: This fic contains an AU, sad 10-year-old Canada.**

**Disclaimer: I'm sick of this.**

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It was pouring outside. The rain was coming down harder than ever, thunder boomed a head and lightning flashed, illuminating the sky in an eerie blue.

Matthew coughed. The bus had left him behind again. Usually, he didn't mind too much. His parents never noticed he was gone, anyway. But it was storming that day. Now the boy had to trudge home sopping wet without a coat. Why, oh, why did he have to choose today of all days to forget it?

Kumajiro didn't like it, either.

Matthew shivered harshly, teeth chattering as icy wind and freezing raindrops battered him. His clothes were soaked and his hair was as well, his shoes were the worst of all and overflowing. Not to mention all of this was beyond uncomfortable; Matthew hated the feeling of water sloshing around in his shoes, footwear squishy and full with liquid, his feet bitterly cold.

Suddenly, as if the world just wished to torment him, an especially cold and powerful wind blasted him from behind, sending him hobbling forward and Kumajiro flying from his grip. The little white bear splashed into a puddle of water, sending cold drips flying.

"Kumajika!"

Matthew sprinted over to the puddle, and snatching up the bear and drying him with his shirt- or, at least attempted to. It didn't serve well as a towel, it was even wetter than Kumajiro. Matthew's blue eyes full of panic, he looked around frantically for something to take shelter under.

Nothing.

There was nothing but street, sidewalk, and a long, looming green field around him, not a car in sight and rain crashing down with an unbelievable amount of force. The downpour fell like a curtain of thin with stripes, ending in splashes, splitting drops, and quick-paced pattering as it hit the ground.

Matthew looked down at the bear in his arms with teary eyes, his liquid sorrow hidden by the precipitation. "K-K-Kimujara?" he stammered, his shivering and shattering teeth interrupting his speech. "I'm sorry! I….w-what? You're OK?" His eyes went from panicked to relieved, and a bit of a smile even tugged at the ends of his lips. "Oh, r-r-right, of course you're OK, y-y-you're right. You _are_ a polar bear. Wha…? N-No! I-I-I'm not calling you weak…!" The boy trembled violently and began to run. "But you'll get sick if we don't get home soon. I-I-I don't c-care if you're a p-polar bear!"

The sound of Matthew's footsteps were literally drowned out by the harsh rainfall. His breath visible, soaked from head to toe, the young boy ran in the direction of home.

The he slipped.

Kumajiro went flying out of his hands once again, and Matthew hit the ground with a splash. Water shot up in all directions, the glasses sitting on his nose thrown off and left lost somewhere Matthew could not tell. The air whooshed out of his lungs and fresh tears welled up in his eyes. Pain shot through his body for a brief period of time, his body having come in contact with the cement sidewalk with a considerable amount of force. Mostly his chin hit the ground. The puddle Matthew fell into was deeper than it appeared, filling his mouth with water, slipping between clenched teeth. He quickly spat it out, gasping and coughing.

A few seconds later, he picked up a very blurry Kumajiro after a bit of feeling around. The world was hazy(although that might have been the rain's fault) and fuzzy, and Matthew could not distinguish the street from the sidewalk.

He looked down at Kumajiro. "What? I-I-I'm sorry….! Ok-Ok-Okay, okay… I'll j-j-just…wait."

And so Matthew sat down, inching his way to the sidewalk.

And waited.


	4. Waiting out a Cold

**Author's Note: As you guys may notice, I update with more than one chapter at a time. Don't expect this to stay steady****.**

**Disclaimer: No.**

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Alfred sat on the edge of the bed, kicking his feet and watching his little brother with a frown. He sighed, shook his head, and said, "Where was you jacket, dude?"

Matthew sneezed and rubbed his nose, fidgeting under his solid red blanket. "I…I left it at-" his sentence was cut short by a fit of loud, violent, painful coughs. "…At home."

Alfred hopped to his feet and gave his brother a smile in an attempt to cheer him up. That boy was convinced his grins made the world a little brighter for everyone. Who's to say he wasn't right? "Want some soup, bro?"

Matthew gave a weak nod, pulling Kumajiro out from under the blanket and resting the bear beside his head. His blond hair was spread out against his white pillow, now dry and so was Kumajiro, thankfully.

"'Kay," Alfred said, and he left the room.

Matthew turned his head to face the polar bear beside him. "How're you feeling, Kimuji?" He smiled a bit. "That's good. I'm a little… Well… I've been better. Yeah, I'm sorry about slipping." He frowned a little and adjusted the covers over his virus-battling body. "We're lucky to have gotten away with just a cold." He turned his head to the door, the room not as clear as it once was through his eyes. His glasses had been left for dead on the streets, most likely to have been run over. In fact, the glasses were the last thing on his mind when his parents had practically dragged him into the car by his freezing little hands. He was ecstatic that they'd noticed him. That they'd remembered at one point.

The happiness vanished when he'd learned that Alfred was the one who'd noticed the boy. A long, drawn-out sigh escaped his lips and he pulled the blanket over his nose. He stayed that way for a little while, eyelids drooping and shivers subduing.

Alfred walked inside, a blue bowl in hand with steam wafting out of it. "Matthew, I got your soup."

Matthew blinked himself awake, sitting up and carefully taking the bowl containing piping hot soup from his brother. "Thanks, Alfred,"

His brother gave him a thumbs up and left the room.

Matthew looked at Kumajiro with a gentle grin. "He's a nice brother, huh?"


	5. Waiting for a Mother

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait!  
/shot**

**Disclaimer: No, I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers...**

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"Alright, c'mon, it's just a little cough. You're fine now, let's move!"

Matthew struggled to slip into his red T-shirt and then sped out of the bathroom, fingers brushing the wall in search of the light switch. It took a few seconds, but he found the protruding switch and flicked it off. "Wait for me, I can't see," he called.

Alfred froze at their room's door and looked over his shoulder at his brother with a grin. "Hurry up, dude, I've got a game to win today."

Matthew stumbled over to his very blurry shoes, or what he was hoping was his shoes. He dropped to the floor, slipping on his shoes, fingers working the shoelaces. "Game? You don't have a soccer game today."

"No, but that Cuban kid and his group challenged me and my team," Alfred replied, his grin growing wider.

Matthew pulled his shoelaces tightly, ensuring their security and hopped to his feet, snatching up his backpack on his way up. He then turned to his bed and picked up Kumajiro, turning to his brother with a smile. "You're gonna win?"

"Heck yeah," Alfred cheered, fist pumping. "That guy'll never know what hit him."

"Alfred! Are you ready to go?" That was Mom.

Matthew and his brother exchanged glances, and Alfred must have noticed the hurt in his brother's eyes, because he snapped at his mother with uncharacteristic irritation. "Matthew's coming, too!"

Matthew squeezed Kumajiro's paw, frowning. He tried to tell her that he wanted to return to school last night, but she was too busy forgetting he existed to notice.

"Yeah!" Alfred shouted.

"Come on, then!"

Matthew, feeling a little better, followed his brother as they ran out of their room, flicking off the lights as he went and shutting the door behind him. Matthew ran into a wall or two on the way to the front door, making his release a small squeak of pain and making the bear in his arms shout and complain. Matthew apologized each time, but Kumajiro did not respond to them.

The two boys and the little polar bear shot out of the front doors of their home, and their mother locked the door. Matthew followed into the back of the van, and soon, the parent was in the driver's seat.

The drive to school was the same as it always was. Their mother played music quietly and talked. An she talked a _lot_.

"So, Alfie, you gonna win that little soccer game?"

"Yeah!" Alfred threw his hands up into the air and shot his mother a wide, toothy, enthusiastic grin.

"Who're you playing against?"

Matthew watched his mother from his seat in the back, listening closely for the moment she tried to gain his attention.

It never came. Not in the way he wanted, at least.

"Why'd you get in the back?" Mom asked Alfred. "You usually don't like to sit back there alone."

Matthew visibly flinched , recoiling as if he was slapped in the face. Drawing Kumajiro closer into his chest, hot tears brimmed his eyes. Why couldn't his own mother notice him? She was his _mother_. She noticed _Alfred_, what made him so special? Was it his out-going, excitable, and fun nature? Wasn't Matthew fun enough?

He glanced at Alfred, who's smile had long melted away. "Mom. Matthew's here, too."

Mom looked over her shoulder briefly to conclude that he was, in fact, in the back, too. "Oh! Matthew, I forgot you were back there."

Her eyes were guilty.

But that wasn't good enough.


	6. Found

**Author's Note: I think I had a lot of fun writing this chapter...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia: Axis Powers, or America or Canada or anyone else! **

**WARNING: This chapter contains invisible children, uh...I mean... a child Canada. In an AU!**

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"Alfred!"

Matthew yelped as he suddenly found himself in a headlock, squirming and yanking at his captor's arms. Particularly at the one pressed against his windpipe.

"I…I…!"

"You little brat! You were supposed to play that soccer game! Why'd you bail out, huh?"

Matthew tried to pull the arm away, but it was a fruitless attempt. The other boy was much stronger, and bigger, than he was. "P-Please! Let me go!"

"No way!" the boy shouted angrily. "Not until you tell me why you didn't show up."

"I'm not Alfred," Matthew gasped, the headlock growing tighter. "I'm his brother, Matthew!"

Although his shouts were quieter than the average voice, the boy heard his every word. He loosened his grip, flicking the blond curl that spiraled off of his hair. Seeing that that wasn't Alfred's hairstyle, he let Matthew go, watching with eyes full of guilt and concern as he fell to his knees, gasping for breath.

"Huh," the boy muttered, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful manner as he circled around the fallen Matthew. "I guess you're not Alfred."

"No, I'm not," Matthew said, a tiny spark of anger fuelling the annoyance in his eyes as he looked up at the boy standing before him.

"Sorry, I thought you were your stupid brother," the boy said with a nervous chuckle. "Do you know where he went?"

Matthew shook his head.

"Oh, okay. Well, if you find him, tell him I'm looking for him." The boy put out a hand to help Matthew up.

Matthew took it, and the boy hefted him up to his feet with ease. "What's your name?" he asked.

The boy steadied Matthew on his feet. "Just tell him the Cuban Kid is looking for him." Without another word, he turned and left.

The anger Matthew felt had long left, quickly replaced with glee.

His waiting had finally paid off.


End file.
